The rector of the great Mosque of Paris (GMP) announced Monday, December 28 to withdraw from the project of the National Council of Imams (CNI), wanted by the Elysee and entrusted to the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM), denouncing the influence of the “
Islamist component
” within the CFCM.
"
I decided (...) to no longer participate in the meetings aimed at implementing the National Council of Imams project and to freeze all contacts with the entire Islamist component of the CFCM
", writes the rector , Chems-Eddine Hafiz, in a press release.
This is an "
irrevocable
"
decision
, he says.
Read also: The republican charter of the imam will be adopted
The project of a National Council of Imams (CNI) responsible for certifying their training in France was urged by the Elysee as part of its bill against radical Islam and "
separatism
".
The creation of such a body, often mentioned but never materialized, had been formally requested by Emmanuel Macron during his speech at Mureaux (Yvelines) presenting his strategy for the fight against “
separatism
” at the beginning of October.
The pressure to better frame the Islam of France had further increased with the assassination of Samuel Paty and the attack in Nice.
This project has been entrusted to the CFCM, its main interlocutor on questions of organization of the Muslim religion in France.
The CNI must issue an authorization to imams based on their knowledge and their commitment to respect a code of ethics.
The nine federations of mosques that make up the CFCM, regularly criticized for its lack of representativeness, were first to agree in early December on a "
charter of republican values
".
“
Unfortunately, the Islamist component within the CFCM, in particular that linked to foreign regimes hostile to France, insidiously blocked the negotiations by almost systematically calling into question certain important passages
” of the charter, criticizes the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris.
"
Members of the Islamist movement
" would have made believe "
that this charter had for ambition to touch the dignity of the faithful Muslims
", details Chems-Eddine Hafiz.
It is "
a shameless lie
", he denounces.
"
I believe that the representation of Muslims deserves something else (...) than dubious actions surrounded by actions which seek to divide the national community and to separate the French of Muslim faith from their society,
" he writes.
At the beginning of December already, a dozen figures of reformed Islam had denounced the role granted by the State to the CFCM for the creation of the CNI, qualifying it as a "
fragile institution
".
